Encouraging the Heart: Igniting Purpose and Providing Meaningful Recognition (J-B Leadership Challenge: Kouzes/Posner)

Human-centered leadership insights from the leading experts on the subject

In the newly revised second edition of Encouraging the Heart: Igniting Purpose and Providing Meaningful Recognition, renowned leadership experts and best-selling authors James Kouzes and Barry Posner deliver an incisive and practical playbook for leaders who want to inspire their followers to achieve extraordinary things. They’ve packed the book with real-world examples, practical ideas, and eye-opening advice drawn from over four decades of work with countless business leaders.

Encouraging the Heart is not a book about incentive systems or reward programs. It goes beyond those things to discuss universal leadership principles that will help elevate your people to new levels of productivity, engagement, and performance. It’s a hands-on roadmap containing behaviors, principles, practices, evidence, and examples that will form the foundation of a repeatable process you can put into place at your own organization.

Inside the book you’ll find strategies for:

Setting clear standards aligned with your organization’s purposePaying attention to exemplary actions and telling memorable stories that motivate action and enact changeNoticing exemplars of values and standards and publicly praising them with personalized feedback and appreciation that encourages others to live up to their exampleSetting a personal example of meaningful ways to recognize others and celebrate values and victories

Encouraging the Heart is a must-read for leaders of all kinds, regardless of position or function, at organizations of all sizes, in the public and private sectors who wish to help those around them realize their full potential.

From the brand

Leaders shape the future. They set the tone. They create a unified vision and follow through on their commitments. Leaders drive results and achieve goals.

To face the obstacles of today and tomorrow, we need leaders at every level. The Leadership Challenge gives everyone the tools and practices to Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Hearts of those around them.

Kouzes and Posner Guides

Kouzes and Posner Guides

About the Authors

James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner are the authors of The Leadership Challenge franchise and other bestselling leadership guides.

Model the Way

Inspire a Shared Vision

Challenge the Process

Enable Others to Act

Encourage the Heart

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wiley
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 6, 2025
Edition ‏ : ‎ 2nd
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1394303904
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1394303908
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.9 x 8.9 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #774,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1,103 in Business Motivation & Self-Improvement (Books) #1,795 in Leadership & Motivation #2,621 in Motivational Management & Leadership
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